Time Travel Faux Pas
by bigb360
Summary: Max and Warren prepare for graduation by enjoying a fancy meal in Seattle, but tragedy strikes Max once again and she does something she promised she would never do again. Changes the past.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at fanfiction ever. I just had a spontaneous story idea after finishing the game and wanted to share it. Go easy on me, but I welcome constructive criticism. I'm not sure how long it will be or exactly where it's going. Have fun!**

* * *

Max looked down at her steak. It was overcooked, and she had just been poking at it since it had been delivered to her table, trying to make it as tender as possible before she began to eat it. At that point it had been a solid seven minutes and she wasn't sure she was even hungry anymore. She pulled at the collar of her dress for the tenth time since they had been seated. She hated the dress. It was too constricting in places she hated being constricted. _This is why I wear t-shirts._ She looked up and glanced around the restaurant at all of the mostly middle aged yuppies enjoying their expensive meals. Men in black suits and women in far more constricting dresses than hers. She was definitely out of her element.

Speaking of, she looked across the table at her date. He had plowed through half of his filet mignon already and was already biting into the second half. His black sports coat and dark jeans stood out a little in the restaurant and he seemed a tad underdressed, but that was Warren. The most she'd seen him dress up was for Chloe's funeral. She didn't care. She mostly hated stupid ritzy restaurants and their dumb dress codes. He'd asked if he should change when he picked her up but she voiced her opinion on the matter and they'd decided to rebel, unnecessarily, against a non-mandatory code at a restaurant they didn't have to eat at. She chuckled at that thought. Her dad had almost insisted they take some time to themselves in Seattle and eat at Canlis on his dime for their graduation celebration. They had enjoyed their day back in the city she spent 5 years in. More freedom as an adult afforded her the ability to explore more of the city than she ever had when she had first lived here with her parents. They'd browsed shops and had visited the Space Needle. Warren had joked about the Men in Black scene, which Max had laughed way too hard at, which made her chuckle again.

Warren looked up and saw her staring and gave her a grin as he wiped his face off. She smiled back and motioned that she was okay. She saw the slight concern on his face she assumed was because she hadn't touched her food, so she began to cut into it. She'd have to at least try to choke some of it down. After all it was a $145 meal. And even if it was overcooked a bit the steak still looked amazing. She took a bite and glanced out the window at the view. The lake view was beautiful. The buildings were lit up and they reflected marvelously on the water. She thought of the wonderful photograph this would make and absentmindedly reached for her bag, which of course she had ditched for a classy small wallet that matched her little black dress. _Well the cell camera will have to do._ The app clicked, confirming it had captured the shot.

"That'll be a good one," Warren said. "You okay? You've barely touched your steak."

"Yeah. It's a little overdone and I'm not sure I'm hungry. Just enjoying the view at this point. And the company."

He blushed slightly at that, bereft of his typical endearingly sarcastic comeback. He just gave her a wink and took a sip of his drink. "Your dad does know how much this costs, right? Cause I looked at the menu. I could live off this for a month!"

 _Ah the life of the mostly Ramen Noodle diet,_ she thought as she nodded to him. "We've been here before. He took mom and me here when I was accepted into Blackwell…"

That hung in the air for a while. They were both looking forward to graduation. Warren had even taken on a heavier second semester load in order to finish up and graduate with most of his friends who were a year older than him. Max recalled how cool she thought it was that he'd get to graduate with her, Kate, Brooke, and the others. He certainly didn't seem out of place a year ahead of most people his age. He was able to do all of the extra work and still spend time with her after Chloe's death.

They were also looking forward to getting away from Blackwell and Arcadia Bay. Her harrowing experience had left an understandably bad taste in her mouth especially, but the revelations about Mark Jefferson had soured many students on what should have been a wonderful experience at the prestigious school. Warren had eventually heard her entire tale as well, which ended with him slamming a fist through his dorm wall. It was only the second time she'd ever seen him lose his temper, and the other time was no longer a time at all.

Things had gone differently this time. After the brouhaha at the school in the aftermath of Chloe's death, she had texted David Madson regarding Jefferson's deeds and the murder of Rachel Amber. She also found out that Nathan Prescott had spilled all of the beans in his interrogation with the police. She had a lot of time with Kate, who, along with Warren, acted as comforters in the immediate aftermath. Kate had basically forgotten about her video, and Victoria had removed it immediately after Nathan's arrest. Its impact was minimal in this timeline. Kate still had to deal with it a little, but she avoided the fear and desperation of not knowing what had happened to her.

"It will be good to get out of there. For everyone. I can't wait to get to Columbia!" She and Warren had both been accepted to the college with great scholarships. They chose a college that was great for their respective interests, and that they could attend together. They had grown quite close and had decided they at least had to see if there was some future for them together.

"Did I tell you what I heard about Victoria?" Max asked. Warren scrunched up his nose a bit at her mention. He still wasn't her biggest fan, but Max and she had developed a mostly amicable relationship since the incident. Victoria had changed a lot too, and finding out her name was on a binder in Jefferson's dark room had had a massive impact on her behavior. The Vortex club all but dissolved and Victoria had spent more time with Kate and Max than either of them ever thought possible. "She got an acting gig in Los Angeles."

"Oh that's where…" Warren stopped short.

"Yeah. Chloe and Rachel wanted to head there. Ironic I guess. Victoria said she knew Rachel had a couple of contacts and she'd been able to reach one. Funny that girl is still helping people out from the afterlife."

"Well good for her. Is she not going to college then?"

"She said she may take some online classes. Just some of the basics. She wants to see where the opportunity here goes," Max answered.

Victoria had been big into photography as well, but her interest seemed to evaporate after Jefferson was arrested. She turned her attention to the theater, which Max thought suited her well, given the acting she had basically been doing as the elitist Vortex club bitch till that point, which Victoria readily admitted now.

"Brooke is going to MIT I guess," Warren said. That was the least shocking thing either of them had said tonight. "I think Kate said she was going to TCU when she called when you were in the shower yesterday."

"Oh I meant to call her back. Remind me if you will."

Warren nodded and put his fork down. His plate was empty. Max had actually gotten through most of her steak. Talking with Warren had revived her appetite apparently. She suddenly looked up at him with a mischievous grin.

"You think we can pass ourselves off as 21 yet?"

"Max, I have to drive anyway, and I look 12."

"Not with this you don't," she said as she pulled a fake ID out of her wallet and winked.

"Did you really keep those? Wow. Haha."

Somehow Victoria had been able to get Daniel DeCosta to make them all fake ID's several months back, and they had worked both times they'd used them. Neither Max nor Warren were big into drinking or breaking the law, but there had been two times where they decided to skirt the issue and grab a few beers. It helped to have a few in the weeks after the funeral to just take a few up to the lighthouse and look at the stars and talk. The second time they had several classmates up there around the bonfire to just have some fun before the last week of school.

"Well, your dad's paying. Your choice," he said chuckling. "I just want a beer if we get anything."

"Well Mr. Graham," she said as she motioned to their waiter, "I'm thinking of something with more class. Can you bring us a nice bottle of wine?" she asked when the waiter appeared. "Keep it under $50 though. Otherwise surprise me."

She could tell the waiter knew they weren't old enough, but she held out the id's and he looked at them with a raised eyebrow, nodded, and turned to go get the bottle.

She flashed a victorious smile at Warren who mock-clapped. "Super Max strikes again. You must be desperate to get me drunk tonight."

"Oh yes, that's my goal. Get the uber-dork drunk so he makes an even bigger fool of us than he normally does." They laughed, which was a welcome change to just a few months earlier when she couldn't imagine laughter. After her incident with Jefferson and her time traveling faux pas, she had been troubled. She still had the nightmares sometimes, but they were fewer and farther between as each week passed. Her friends had helped. Warren, knowing the full story, was able to help the most. He was understanding and patient. He told her it was probably PTSD. She thought only soldiers experienced that, but of course it made sense.

An hour later they were staring at an empty bottle of wine, and at a pair of flushed red faces. Neither was completely drunk, but they were both very close.

"I can't drive now, and neither can you," Warren slurred. "Look what you've done to me!"

"It was my evil plan the whole time. Now you are my hostage for the rest of the night!" She bopped him in the shoulder and he faked immense pain as the waiter took the payment from Max. "So what now, nerd?"

"Well we have a few hours to kill while you sober up, how about a walk?"

It was decided and they headed outside to walk along the lake trail. It was a calm and quiet night. A weeknight luckily, so it wasn't so busy. They walked and talked, his arm resting along her waist and her head leaning into his chest. She closed her eyes briefly. She just wanted to remember this moment. It was perfect, and it was just what she needed after the several months long emotional ordeal she'd had. She had such great friends. Such a great boyfriend. It would be sad to have to see most of her other friends head out to the rest of their lives in other states at other colleges. But she and Warren were going to see where life took them together. It gave her a warm peaceful feeling to think their future was mostly secure.

She opened her eyes and saw a figure move near a tree in the distance. She squinted, but the light was not as good at their current location and she could no longer see anything. She looked up at Warren who didn't seem to divert his attention at all. As they continued to walk she saw the figure again, clearly a person. Warren noticed this time and came to a stop.

"Maybe it's time to head back," he said. She quickly agreed and they turned around only to be confronted by another figure behind them. Max quickly thought about the gun David Madson had allowed her to borrow. After all the nonsense with Jefferson he'd almost insisted she take one when she traveled. He'd even talked about a concealed carry permit when she turned 21, and she was seriously considering it. But she wasn't 21 yet, and the gun was in Warren's glove compartment. She did have pepper spray, but she had left it in her bag back at Blackwell. _Shit._

"Shit," she heard Warren mutter.

"Good evening," the figure who surprised them from behind said (who she now saw wore a ski mask), "you people know the drill. Empty the wallets, kids. No need to risk your lives here."

"We don't have any money, sir," Warren said.

"That's bullshit. I've followed you from that ritzy joint down the way. You're loaded."

"No, we…" Warren was cut short as the man smacked him in the face with a newly revealed gun. After pistol-whipping him he drew down on Warren. It was all happening so fast, and Max felt she wasn't going to be able to keep it together. She could feel herself start to hyperventilate. She couldn't believe this was happening again. The man who was now behind them grabbed Max's arm and then wrapped his arm around her body as she began to flail, trying to get away.

Suddenly time seemed to slow, Warren sprung up from the ground and smashed the man pointing the gun at him in the face, knocking him cold. She was amazed at how quickly he moved even though time seemed to have slowed. Warren pivoted toward the man who held her. He suddenly shoved her to the side as hard as he could, sending her crashing to the ground hard. She looked up to see him draw a gun and fire at Warren. She screamed.

Time stopped.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter starts out fast and ends slow. The next couple I probably plan on developing some of our favorite characters a bit more and trying to develop the best way to lead up to the climactic events I have running through my head. So I hope slow fluff is okay with you all for a bit. Thanks for the positive reviews so far. The first few chapters may come quicker than the ones after, but I have every intention of finishing this story fairly quickly. Feel free to offer critiques! Have fun!**

* * *

"Max."

Her head hurt. She didn't want to open her eyes.

"Max!"

The voice grew louder. She just wanted them to shut up. It was too loud right now.

"Max you have to get up."

She then recognized the voice. _It can't be._ She cracked an eye open. A blurry multicolored figure began to form in her vision. So many colors. But the figure was human. A multicolored human? She opened her other eye and rubbed them, trying to clear her vision.

"C-Chloe?"

"Max what are you doing?"

"What do you mean, Chloe? How are you here?" Had she traveled back in time again?

"Max I don't know if you can fix it this time."

"What, Chloe? Fix what? I never wanted to break anything. I only wanted to help my friends. All of them. You!"

"Max, you have to wake up."

Max couldn't believe this was the conversation they were having after so many months of…she couldn't remember….

"Chloe," she said stepping forward. She wanted to embrace her friend. It seemed like she hadn't seen her in so long.

But Chloe shook her head. "You have to wake up." Without warning, Chloe suddenly reached back and smacked her.

* * *

Max jolted awake. _A dream? Was it all a dream?_ It took a moment for her to clear her head and figure out where she was. Her lip was wet with blood from her nose and someone was screaming. Or they had screamed and it was echoing in her ears? She wiped off the blood and stood up but stumbled onto the ground again. She couldn't seem to gain her equilibrium. Shaking her head she tried to stand up again. She stood for a moment with her eyes closed and breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm herself and clear her head. Upon opening her eyes she let out a gasp. Warren was in front of her, but he was statuesque. He wasn't moving, and light seemed to reflect off of his body strangely, such that he looked like he had moved while taking a photograph. Max began to look around and discovered that everything was this way. Still. Quiet. Blurry. She saw a cat to her right in mid jump, perfectly frozen in the air. She looked behind her and suddenly remembered where she was and what had happened. She had almost walked into the bullet that had been fired at Warren. It too hung in midair. She looked at its trajectory and saw that it was going to hit Warren in the chest.

"No," she gasped. "No, no, no, no! Warren!" She sobbed and threw her arms around his neck. She wished time would move again. She wished she could take the bullet for him. But it didn't. She leaned back as she sobbed lightly. She rubbed his frozen face. It was a face of determined fear. She moved a lock of his brown hair out of his eyes.

It began to dawn on her what was happening. She had clearly stopped time again. Just like back when she had talked Kate down off of the roof of the dormitories. She didn't know how she had done it then, and she especially didn't know how she'd done it now. She looked back at where she'd stood up from and saw her faded form on the damp grass. It was an after-image. One she knew would disappear immediately if time restarted. She had never seen herself look like that before. She was clearly screaming (which still seemed to be ringing in her ears) and there seemed to be a burst of air emanating from her. The grass around her was flat around, as if she were a landing helicopter. Her hair stood up on end. She thought she looked like Goku powering up.

It didn't matter. She had to think about what to do, and quickly. She didn't know how long this would last. But then her heart sunk as a realization dawned on her. She couldn't save Warren. She couldn't change time again. Not after last time. Not after the massive natural disaster saving one girl caused. That tornado would have killed thousands in Arcadia Bay. What would a similar natural disaster do in Seattle? How many would suffer? Millions!

"Oh Warren, why? Why is this happening again? I can't handle it this time. I can't do it. I can't have you leave me too."

But she didn't know if this would cause a disaster, did she? Nothing seemed right. Nothing made sense. She hadn't had any visions of a natural disaster. She had to do this, right? She couldn't lose another friend.

Suddenly a burst of air hit her and thousands of blue butterflies rushed past her face, seemingly out of nowhere. _How are they moving? Time has stopped!_ She then saw a doe watching her from the edge of the lake. _That doe! That was the one at Rachel's grave! What is going on?_

She didn't have time to contemplate these signs because she suddenly became aware of the world around her beginning to move. The screaming became louder. Her screaming. It was deafening, almost unbearable. And it continued to get louder. Warren began to slowly move, and she saw the bullet start to continue on its path. She didn't have time to think about any of it.

"Fuck it!" she yelled, though she could barely hear it over her other scream. She pulled out her cell phone and scrolled to the picture she'd just taken in the restaurant and focused on it as hard as she could. She felt herself being drawn in as she heard some of the ambiance from the restaurant break through into her reality. She focused harder and the photo began to move.

* * *

"That'll be a good one," Warren said. "You okay? You've barely touched your steak."

Max was back in the restaurant. Back before she had taken a bite of her steak. She looked at the photo she had just taken of the lake and set the phone down.

"Max?" Warren said, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Oh Warren!" She got up and ran to his side of the table embracing him.

"Wow, Max, it's just steak. No biggie if you don't like it. Did it scare you? It didn't moo, did it?" He chuckled to himself lightly.

She did too, through some tears. "That was so lame," she laugh/cried.

"What is going on?"

She wasn't sure she should tell him. He was the one who made her aware of what her actions in traveling through time had done in the first place. Chaos theory. The butterfly effect. He'd lecture her about cause and effect. He'd probably demand that she go back and let him die. _He totally would. Damn him._

"It's okay. Just another…uh…not nightmare. But daydream-mare. Is that a thing?"

"I don't know, but uncomfortable staring from those around us wondering why we have to use the same seat is," he said with a large grin on his face.

Max looked around and saw some of the guys giving him a thumbs up, while others looked bewildered at her sudden outburst. She got up, gave a big smile to everyone, and then sat in her seat. She looked down at her steak and was sorry she'd not get to enjoy it again. But she definitely didn't have an appetite this time.

"Warren," she hesitated. She was going to change the past now. It wasn't a good idea. But it was her only one. And she could always come back using the photo on her cell phone…right? Come back and let Warren….

"Max, what is it?"

"Can we go? I need to go. Can we head back to my parents' house? Please?"

"Max, what is wrong?" Warren was concerned now. "What was the nightmare about?"

"It was terrible, Warren. I just…let's go." she trailed off and placed her head in her hand. Warren called for the check.

* * *

Max hadn't said much of anything since they had left the restaurant and headed toward her parent's house. The car hummed lightly on the highway, thumping lightly over expansion joints. Max's head remained in her hand as she stared out the window. Warren had learned over the last few months when Max needed to be left alone with her thoughts. He reached out and took her hand and she squeezed his in return. Warren looked at her and smiled.

"Max. Whatever's eating at you, just know that it's in the past. We're here. Together. And nothing can go wrong when the dynamic duo is on the case."

She looked over and smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He smiled back and continued down the road. Max chewed a nail, uncomfortable with the irony and uncertain about the future.


	3. Chapter 3

Max and Warren had only been up to visit her parents one other time together during Christmas vacation. Max hadn't been doing well and had asked Warren and Kate to drive up with her. They had been such sweethearts and had cancelled their own Christmas plans. Kate told her she had just seen her family over Thanksgiving and saw them at every school break anyway. They could do without her for once. Warren wasn't going to leave Max's side at that point and there wasn't much his family could do to dissuade him, not that they really tried.

The whole week her mom had spoiled them all, and couldn't stop smiling every time Max and Warren were anywhere near each other. Kate had informed her of the budding relationship between the two, and her mom was a ridiculously hopeless romantic who had no qualms about spoiling her daughter's new boyfriend. This of course annoyed and embarrassed her daughter, but since when has that ever stopped a mother?

She stuffed them full of cookies and other goodies and made sure Warren received extras. She made obvious statements constantly about how "adorable" Warren was and what "good genes" he seemed to have, which sent a beet red Maxine to her room on a couple of occasions. Warren took it in stride for the most part and laughed with Max after the fact. Overall it was an endearing trip for them all, and it had solidified their relationship at the time.

Mrs. Caulfield opened the door for the weary duo and they stumbled inside. "Oh kids you're back! I hope you had a good time. Where did you go? What did you do? It's a little early. Are you sure you had enough time together? You only get to graduate from High School once…"

She would have gone on with peppering them with questions but Max went up and wrapped her arms around her burying her head in her shoulder. Vanessa stopped and looked at Warren over Max's shoulder with a quizzical look on her face. Warren shrugged in return and mouthed 'I don't know.' Vanessa hugged Max and then put her at arm's length and rested her hands on her shoulders. She looked at her daughter and realized how distressed she was.

"Maxine, why don't you go get ready for bed?"

Max nodded and turned to Warren. She gave a tired smile, squeezed him a bit too tight (not that he minded, and ascended the staircase to the second story and headed to her bedroom.

"You're sure you don't know what's going on?" Vanessa asked Warren.

"I'm sorry. She wanted to leave the restaurant and hadn't even touched her meal. She said something about an unpleasant memory. I'm not sure."

She nodded and Warren made his way to the basement to sleep on his makeshift bed, which was actually a couch in the middle of a finished basement that Max's dad had turned into a sports lounge. He changed into his pajamas and sat on the couch thinking about the night. He wished Max had been a little more open. He thought she'd gotten past her introverted periods, and hoped the anxious feeling he had begun developing was just pre-graduation butterflies.

Warren soon found he was having trouble keeping his eyes open and he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Max couldn't fall asleep. She stared up at the glow in the dark ceiling stickers that she'd put there in 8th grade and went over what had happened earlier in the evening again and again. She was still beating herself up over the decision she was forced to make. That's what her life seemed to be each time her powers had manifested themselves, a series of really shitty choices. She'd had to undo all of them last time, but she couldn't this time. She didn't have the strength.

She sat up in the dark. _This isn't working,_ she thought, _I am never going to fall asleep._ They had a long drive back to Arcadia Bay tomorrow and she couldn't be up all night. But she felt so alone in all of this. Maybe she should tell Warren. He deserved to know.

She stood up and made her way down the hall to the stairs. The house was dark and quiet and every floorboard that creaked seemed excruciatingly loud. _This is silly, Max. You're a grown woman. Why are you sneaking around your parents' house? To avoid their annoying questions about a late night visit to my boyfriend, that's why._

Even though every step leading to the basement creaked under her small frame, when she got to Warren's couch she saw he was still asleep. She smiled. He looked so peaceful. It was a stark contrast to his frozen face from the altercation in her previous timeline.

She didn't want to wake him, but she also didn't want to be alone through the night. There was just enough room at the head of the couch for her to sit down. She squeezed in between the arm of the couch and Warren's head. Being near to the peacefully sleeping figure seemed to melt all of her anxieties away for a moment. She smiled and stroked his hair and suddenly didn't care about what happened tomorrow or the day after, but only about her quiet moment with a boy she cared about deeply. She leaned her head back onto the couch and peacefully fell asleep.

* * *

A man sat awake in a cold dark room on an uncomfortable bunk bed. A man who had a series of dreams, dreams about a girl he knew. A girl that he dreamed could play with time.


	4. Chapter 4

Max woke up after a restful night to find herself sprawled all over Warren. She sat up quickly, blushing. _Warren must have slept through the whole thing._ She giggled. _How did you stay asleep with my knee on your face?_ Smiling, she quickly made her way to the stairs. The clock on the wall indicated that most people should still be asleep, so she hoped she could make a quick escape to pretend she hadn't just slept with her boyfriend all night.

She slowly opened the basement door and peered down the hallway. The house was quiet. She stepped into the hallway and slowly closed the basement door behind her and began to tiptoe toward the stairs to the second story. As she approached the kitchen she heard the sizzling of bacon and slight humming from her mother.

"Good morning, Maxine! Go ahead and come on in here."

Max rolled her eyes and entered the kitchen. _Welp! All my hard sneaky work down the drain._ "Good morning, mother."

Vanessa turned around and smiled, handing her a plate of bacon and eggs. "Your father should be in shortly. He's just checking the oil in the cars right now. Hurry and eat your breakfast. We're behind schedule because of you sleepy heads."

Max sat down and began to dig in to her meal. "I thought it was early."

"Oh if you used the clock in the basement, the batteries have been dead for a couple weeks now," she said winking at her daughter.

Max responded with an embarrassed smile. "Mom, we just slept. Like literally. Slept. I don't even think he knew I was down there."

Her mom waved her hand. "Maxine, we know you are a responsible girl. You're a grown woman now. It's so exciting to see you reach this point. Your father and I are so ecstatic about the person you're becoming. We're very proud of you. We know you're going to have such a great time the next few years in college."

She reached out and patted Max's hand as suddenly her father waltzed into the kitchen. "Well there she is! How's my girl? I can't believe we're going to see you walk down the stage tomorrow. Where did the time go?" He walked over to her and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Thanks, dad," she beamed.

Warren wandered into the kitchen as Max was finishing her coffee. He had already gotten dressed, and she was surprised to see him wearing a Seattle Seahawks t-shirt.

"My man!" her dad guffawed and gave Warren an awkward middle-aged fist bump. Max smiled and rested her chin in her hand as Warren tried to impress her dad for the next several minutes with hastily Googled football knowledge.

"Man it was so great to see them win the Super Bowl. I can't believe we finally got it after all these years!"

Max couldn't keep composed any longer. "Pfft." She started laughing. "Dad, he's never watched a football game in his nerd life."

Warren gave her the evil eye. "Don't listen to her. I know all about every run the Seahawks made this year."

Max covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the laughing as her dad just shook his head in mock-disapproval. They both gave Warren a hard time for a little longer until her mother scolded them for picking on poor Warren and set a huge plate of eggs, bacon, and sausage in front of him, capped off with a very large cup of coffee.

Recalling she was still in her nightgown, Max bid them all adieu and ascended the stairs in order to prepare for the 5-hour drive back to Arcadia Bay. Everything seemed so perfect that day. Maybe she didn't have anything to worry about. There had been no ominous animal deaths, no lifelike premonitions, just a happy time after she prevented a freak murder. She determined to stop worrying about it and enjoy the next few days with her all of her family, friends, and especially her boyfriend in Arcadia Bay.

* * *

The ride to Arcadia Bay was mostly uneventful. She and Warren had talked and joked even more than they had in Seattle. They had so much in common in terms of their entertainment interests; so finding topics of discussion had never been an issue for them. Warren was focused on the missed opportunities in the previous season of The Walking Dead while Max had made her case for her favorite Star Wars prequel. Warren couldn't handle how anyone could remotely have a favorite Star Wars prequel but he politely listened, and then impolitely made fun of her for actually giving the prequels any thought at all. This of course elicited another shoulder bop from her, followed by a quick peck on the cheek.

She ended up falling asleep for about the last hour of the trip and didn't wake up until they had pulled into Blackwell Academy's small parking lot. She opened her eyes and was able to wave at her parents as they continued on toward their hotel.

A brief memory of that spot from a time that no longer existed flashed through her mind: a silly conversation, an angry confrontation, a heroic intervention, and then a glad reunion. She sighed, sorry again that that reality couldn't have lasted. She and Warren never did get to "go Ape." Warren had never even had the opportunity to ask her in this time.

"Warren, we need to have a Planet of the Apes marathon soon."

"Oh hey, did you know a drive in about 60 miles down the road had one several months ago? Right after…oh you must have known, heh."

"You asked me to it in the other timeline," she said smiling.

"Really? When you were doing all the detective work with Chloe?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "it really pissed Brooke off that I agreed to go with you. You were so cute how excited you got about it. You wouldn't stop texting me about 'going ape!'"

"Huh. That sounds really lame of me," he chuckled. "How did we like it?"

"We never got to go."

Suddenly they saw Kate hurrying down the steps from the campus toward them. She smiled at them and her eyes seemed bright and optimistic. Max couldn't help but compare them to what she'd seen on the roof of the dorms. She and Warren exited their car and started toward her.

"Hey guys it's so good to see you back! You're here just in time!" she said as she gave Max a hug before they all turned and began walking toward the Blackwell campus. "Victoria has organized a pre-graduation event in the gym later on. We were all hoping you guys would be back in time for it."

"Kick ass," Max said.

Rounding the corner they saw a group of girls that once composed some of the most popular girls in the now-defunct Vortex club sitting in the grass. Victoria, Taylor, Dana, and Juliet all looked up simultaneously when they saw the trio approaching them. The girls waved and Victoria stood up and walked over and gave Max a hug.

"Max, did Kate tell you about the party tonight?" she asked.

"Yes, we were just talking about it. We won't miss it," she replied, motioning her head toward Warren.

Victoria tilted her head, her typical mannerisms as always seemed obvious and exaggerated. "Isn't this exciting guys? Only two more days and we're officially done with this place."

"It seems crazy," Warren said, "doesn't seem like we've been here that long."

"It does to me," Max said, chuckling at her own inside joke.

Victoria peeked over her shoulder to make sure none of the other girls were listening, then grabbed one of Max's and Kate's hands each and leaned in and quietly said to them, "Thank you all so much for being so good to me even though I know I didn't deserve it. You all have meant so much to me. I think it's you two girls who I'll miss the most." She gave them a small smile each, and then embraced them again.

"Victoria, we'll all always have the memories we made together here. I'm glad we got to make them together," Kate replied.

"Yes," Max added sincerely, "we all love you, Victoria. We're so glad we were able to get closer and become your friends. We'll never forget you, or any of the others. Friends for life."

Victoria carefully removed a tear from her cheek, making sure to not smear her makeup, smiled and nodded, and turned to return to the other girls.

"Well that was a little mushy for my tastes," Warren said, breaking the awkward silence that followed.

"You're terrible," Max laughed, and bopped him in the arm.

"C'mon Max," Kate interjected, "we're leaving this emotionally disconnected man and getting ready for the party tonight."

"I'll have you both know I teared up when Spock died," Warren said as Max waved to him and laughed while Kate led her off to her dorm room.

* * *

Max and Kate strolled into the dimly lit gymnasium at around 8pm. They had spent the rest of their afternoon enjoying tea, eating dinner in the school cafeteria, and then getting dolled up for the party. Max had chosen to wear a white polka-dotted knee length dress while Kate opted for a white blouse with the sleeves stylishly rolled up and a black pencil skirt.

Most everyone had already shown up and had begun to socialize. The scene was much different than she remembered at her old timeline's "End of the World" party. The music was much milder than she remembered at that party, and while the lights were dim, no strobe effects had been implemented. Max was more comfortable in this setting than she had been at the End of the World party. Not to mention she wasn't searching for a murderer at this one.

She could see a table full of snacks with a big punchbowl at the very end where Alyssa, Brooke, Justin, Trevor, Dana, Luke, and Stella were talking. To their right she saw many of the former Vortex club members congregating, and they all looked remarkably sober, which made sense. Another positive result of Nathan Prescott being removed from the equation was that the chronic drug users in the school had lost their most important distributor.

Max noticed one of the Vortex group members waving her and Kate over to them.

"Hi Hayden," she said as they approached.

"Mad Max, how goes it, girl? Isn't this exciting?"

"Yeah, it's really getting close isn't it?"

Hayden nodded and took a sip of his punch. Max looked to Kate who'd been caught up in a conversation with Luke.

"So I hear you're going to be going to Columbia. New York City, huh? Pretty swanky," he said. Somehow Max thought he'd suddenly closed some of the space between them.

"Uh yeah," she said, suddenly wondering where Warren was, "it's got great arts and science programs. You know, for me and Warren." She made sure to put some emphasis on the 'Warren.'

"Oh yeah. You and Graham have been hanging out a lot lately. You decided to go to the same college?" He tipped back his head and finished off his glass of punch.

"Oh well, things worked out and…"

"Hey you know what, let me get you my number. If things don't work out with Graham, why don't you give me a call and see what I'm up to?" he grabbed her hand, pulled out a pen, and jotted his number on her palm faster than she could object.

She was a little taken back and then felt a hand run across the small of her back as she suddenly found Warren standing next to her glaring at Hayden.

"Graham my man!" Haden said sticking his fist out for a bump, which Warren did not reciprocate. "You know Max Factor, this guy's been in the gym more lately? Yeah I've shown him a couple of things the last month or so. Oh hey, there's Victoria. I'll catch you two later." He left quickly and made his way over to Victoria who had approached from the other side of the gym.

"Well shit, that was weird," she said and then looked at Warren, "I did not ask for his number, Warren."

He grinned at her, "Oh I thought I was going to have to fight the most popular guy in school for you in the middle of the gym for a second there."

"Hmm, well maybe I should play a little harder to get. You may have had it a little easy the past few months," she replied grinning mischievously while pretending to look at her palm.

Kate suddenly came up next to Max and placed her hand on her shoulder for balance. She looked flushed. "Kate, what's wrong?"

"Luke he…he just asked me to go to dinner with him after the graduation ceremony."

"What like a date?" Warren wondered.

"I think so," she replied.

"Wow, Kate that is so awesome! What did you say?" Max wondered excitedly.

"I told him that I would but that I wanted you two to go with us. Can you guys make that work? Did you have any other plans?"

"No, not at all! It'll be great! Oh it'll be so fun. A double date!"

"Geez guys this is getting way too kawaii," Warren joked. He looked over at Luke and gave him a thumbs up, to which Luke smiled.

They noticed Victoria making her way to the stage and she grabbed a microphone from the podium. "I hope everyone is having a great time. There are still plenty of refreshments but we're going to start the dance. Any requests can be given to the DJ over there. I want to see everyone out there dancing with each other. No excuses!" Everyone laughed and most everyone began to make their way to the dance floor. Luke came over and offered his hand to Kate, which made her blush profusely as she followed him out, looking back at Max for support. Max winked at her and gave her a thumbs up and mouthed, "You'll be fine!"

She then turned back to Warren and stuck her finger in his chest. "You are going to dance with me, Mr. Graham."

He mock pouted. "But Max, you know us nerds don't know how to dance."

"You don't work out either, but it sounds like that's changed too."

She grabbed his hand and led him out to the dance floor. They enjoyed the rest of their night dancing and laughing with their classmates. It was the perfect penultimate celebration of their mixed high school experience. It had been hard on most of them, but it seemed to be ending on a high note.


	5. Chapter 5

A man shackled to another man ascended the steps at the open entrance of a large gray bus. The man smiled slightly and his eyes danced behind his dark-rimmed glasses. He'd had dreams again all night about the girl who could play with time. The girl he knew. It was very early. The sun had not risen. This was a very early morning transport. But the man in the dark rimmed glasses knew it wouldn't make its destination. He'd dreamed it.

He was firmly pushed into his seat and a man with a gun shackled his feet to a strong metal rod that ran along the floor of the bus. He sat up straight and smiled at the man with a gun. The man with a gun looked at him puzzled for a second and then just shook his head.

The bus's powerful diesel engine roared to life and another man with a gun put the bus into gear and pulled it onto the long dark road ahead. The shackled man knew what was coming, and he prepared himself.

The bus trudged down the long dark two lane road for an hour, the only sounds on-board were the jingling of the chains against the metal rod and the soft thud of the tires as they hit bumps in the road. There were no streetlights along this stretch of mostly rural road. The lights of the bus were the only source of illumination. The hum of the motor continued. The shackled man thought it was almost peaceful. Almost.

A soft rumbling began to crescendo, soon overtaking the noise of the engine. The bus began to rock and sway on the road. The driver attempted to compensate frantically as the other man with a gun began to loudly wonder what was going on. Suddenly in the headlights of the bus the shackled man could see the road ahead of them split down the middle. The loudest "crack" he had ever heard was then followed by a violent jolt as the bus went airborne briefly. He braced himself as it fell back to earth. He heard metal rend and grind as the bus split in two right ahead of his seat. His half of the bus spun around several more times and finally came to a stop.

The shackled man let a gust of air escape his lungs as he realized he'd been holding his breath. He found that his half of the bus had landed on its side. He righted himself and pulled his shackles off of the now broken metal rod that once ran the length of the bus. He stepped out of the wreckage and surveyed the scene. His half of the bus had traveled another fifty yards or so leaving the front half pinned against the uprooted pavement of the now ruined highway. He sauntered his way over to the front half of the bus only able to take very small steps due to the chains constricting his feet. The front of the bus had landed vertically on its hood and now rested at a 45 degree angle against the uneven pavement. He peered down toward the front and saw human carnage. The driver had been crushed and the other passengers had been killed by the impact.

Help me," said a voice behind him.

He turned and saw the man with a gun who had shackled him to the bus lying under a large piece of the highway. His lower body was pinned and his right arm looked to be mangled. He approached the man with a gun.

"Please," the man begged, "I have a family. I need help. Please my radio. On my belt. I can't get to it."

The shackled man knelt down and peered through his dark rimmed glasses at the man's eyes. They were full of fear and apprehension. The shackled man felt a thrill run down his spine at the raw emotions he saw in his face. It was too bad the face was not going to last. The shackled man indeed reached for the gun man's radio, but he also pulled a set of keys and the man's gun off of his belt as well.

"No, please don't do this," the man begged.

The shackled man couldn't help but think of how pathetic it sounded. Just like the pathetic cries he often heard in his past. But it was not time to reminisce. He pointed the gun at the man's head and savored the look of horror briefly before he discharged the weapon. The man went limp.

The shackled man found the key to his shackles and undid them. They fell to the ground. He was free. He took a moment to bask in the night air, to breathe breaths of freedom, to laugh hysterically. He became giddy when he remembered his purpose. His dreams had revitalized him. They had given him a new goal.

Mark Jefferson had a new glorious ambition now. A new obsession had overtaken his brilliant art-focused mind. One person. One girl. And she could play with time.

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter is so short, but it just felt right to end it there. I have the next one mostly written so you won't have to wait long. Get ready. It's going to get pretty heavy over the next few chapters. If you thought Jefferson was unhinged before, just wait.**


	6. Chapter 6

Max woke up early for her last day of high school. She didn't have any reason to really. All of the classes were just ceremonial at this point. Blackwell seniors always took finals the Friday before graduation. They wanted their outgoing class to be able to bask in their last day before graduation, and spend time with their teachers in a more casual environment. But Max was just so stoked. She'd been up late with Warren, Kate, Luke, Victoria, and several others, and had been sending silly texts back and forth to Warren even later. But even though she'd only gotten a few hours of sleep she was too excited to sleep in. She spent the first hour of her morning getting ready for the day and then boxing up a few final items in her dorm room so she'd be ready to pile them into her parent's car when they picked her up to head back to Seattle for the summer.

After she couldn't keep herself busy anymore in her room, she skipped up to Warren's room. She took notice of the note she'd decided to leave him on his marker board in this reality too and smiled. He wouldn't erase it in any reality. She pounded his door. After a couple of seconds the door slowly creaked open and Warren peered around the side of the door. His hair was mussed and it looked like he hadn't fully awoken yet.

"If this isn't an emergency I'm going to close this door and go back to sleep."

"Oh Warren, it's too wonderful a day for you to sleep in," she said, forcing her way into his room.

He grumbled but acquiesced. How could he do otherwise? He loved seeing her happy and optimistic again.

They spent the rest of the morning together until about 7:30am when they headed for the main building to go through the motions of their final day. Warren walked her to her first class.

"You know what I'm sick of?" she asked.

"What?"

"The damn PDA policy in this school."

She then cupped his face in her hands and firmly planted her lips on his. She felt him jolt in surprise, but then felt him wrap his arms around her as he pulled her close. It went on like that for quite a while until they felt pieces of paper start to pelt them. She broke off the kiss and looked around to see half of their graduating class staring at them, some laughing some looking disgusted. Max saw Kate rolling up a piece of paper before she bounced it off her head lightly, laughing.

"Et tu, Kate?"

"C'mon, Max, you are blocking the door."

Mrs. Grant then interjected with a wink; "It's also against school policy, Ms. Caulfield. Even on the last day." Max could tell she had some levity behind her gentle chiding. "Get to class, Mr. Graham."

"I don't know what the point is," he said, "there's no way I can concentrate on anything now."

Max smiled and waved goodbye to Warren and stepped into her photography class with Kate. She was going to enjoy her last day of high school.

* * *

Jefferson had walked for a couple of hours. He was tired and thirsty, but his new obsession compelled him to press on. His next goal was to find clothing so that he could ditch his prison garb, and as it so happened he had just spotted a small farmhouse on the horizon.

The sun was now high in the sky, and he was far too clearly visible in the small field. He needed to get to the house before anyone spotted him. He began to jog along the uneven ground toward a tall red barn that stood next to the small house. He slowed as he reached the back of the barn and slowly made his way around the corner. He peered toward the front of the house and saw a gray pickup truck and an elderly man in light blue overalls who was rummaging around in its bed. Jefferson's eyes danced behind his dark rimmed glasses as he plotted his next few moves. He had to make sure no one else would charge out of the house when he killed the man, so he made his way to the rear and checked the back door. It opened easily and he began to make his way to the interior. He peered around the first corner and saw an elderly woman napping on a chair. He quickly grabbed a couch cushion and forced it onto her face. The struggle was short as she lacked the strength to put up any significant fight.

Jefferson peered out the front window and saw the man had moved from the truck and was walking into the barn. He hurried outside and drew the gun he'd stolen from the transport guard. Hurriedly, he peered around the entrance to the barn and saw the old man sit down at a bench with his back to the door. Jefferson snuck in as quietly as he could and walked up behind the old man and shot him in the back of the head.

"No offense," he said to the dead body at his feet. He felt no remorse. It was just a means to an end. He reached into the old man's pockets and relieved him of his keys and wallet. There was $75 in the old man's pocket, more than enough to make it to Arcadia Bay. Jefferson knew he had to get there by tonight, before graduation ended and his obsession left town for whatever silly destination a newly graduated time-traveler would choose.

He went inside and found the man's closet and chose a pair of the man's blue jeans and a white t-shirt to replace his dingy prison attire. They were a little baggy on the slender man, but they would have to do. He hiked up the man's belt an extra loop and tucked in the shirt. The final piece of attire Jefferson grabbed was an old blue cap.

Jefferson walked outside and looked around. He couldn't help but think what a beautiful farm it was. Then his thoughts drifted back to his new obsession. He climbed in the truck and started the 5-hour trip to Arcadia Bay.

* * *

Max exited her final class of her final day of high school. During the hour her new photography teacher had expressed to her how phenomenal he thought her work was. He expressed remorse at the interruption that terrible week Nathan had killed Chloe had caused that prevented Blackwell students from participating in the Everyday Heroes contest. He thought Max's photograph would have won hands down, which of course she already knew. The conversation had bummed her out. Of course she didn't blame the new teacher. He couldn't have known. The situation sucked. She had such an amazing art future in that timeline set up for her. Now she had to work her way from the bottom at Columbia as just another one of the many aspiring new photography students. Not to mention all the other traumatizing bullshit she'd had to endure.

She shook her head to clear the bad memories and made her way out of the classroom. Warren was leaning up against her locker just down the hallway with his arms crossed. He smiled and gave her a wink as she started toward him.

"So we gonna finish that thing we were doing earlier or what?"

She smiled and bopped him in the chest and then fell into him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his chest and they just stood like that for several minutes.

"It's finally over, Warren. Our long-lasting nightmare at Blackhell is over."

"And good riddance I say. When I toss my cap into the air tomorrow I'm going to be symbolically tossing this shit right the hell away," he said. "No one should ever have to go through what we…what YOU went through here."

"It ended on a high note though, Warren," she said as they started walking toward the exit. "A lot of positive things came of what happened. Nathan is gone, Jefferson went to jail, Kate is so much better off and she never attempted suicide, Victoria is nice to us and was spared her own horrors." She stopped. She'd recited this list many times over the last few months. She continually had to remind herself of all the things Chloe gave her life for.

"And?" Warren prodded.

"And…I can't think of anything else. Did you have something in mind?" She gave him a sly smile and rested her head on his shoulder, saying what he wanted her to say with her actions.

They exited the front door of the school where Principal Wells was waving goodbye to all of the students who were headed home for summer vacation, and reminding graduating seniors what time the graduation ceremony started. He saw Max and Warren and approached them with a purpose.

"Maxine," his deep voice boomed, "I'm so proud of you, and you too Warren. You've both been exemplary students here at Blackwell. Even through devastating times that no students should ever have to experience, you've been wonderful role models to your peers and the underclassmen. I just wanted to thank you both."

Max smiled at him and then moved in and gave him a hug. "Principal Wells, you'll never know the impact you had on my life." She knew he wasn't perfect, but that was part of his appeal. When it came time to do the right thing in the alternate timeline, he had. He resisted the heavy hand of Sean Prescott and stood for greater principles. She also appreciated the time they'd had in San Francisco together.

Warren shook his hand and he reminded them of the graduation ceremony time and they continued down the sidewalk. Max's phone broke the new silence and she pulled it out of her bag.

"Kate and Luke are hanging out in the parking lot," she said after reading the text message, "She wants us to come over and plan our double date."

They walked down the steps into the parking lot and saw them sitting on the bench next to the grass. Max heard some animals rustling in the bushes and a few birds fluttered higher into the trees.

"Hey you two," Kate said, "so we're thinking of immediately going to the drive in theater in the next town right after the ceremony. Luke and I have to head back home right after."

Max and Warren looked at each other and smiled. Warren asked "So we should probably head out shortly after the graduation ceremony, right? We might be cutting it close if we want to make it for the start of the movie."

They all agreed to meet there in the parking lot right after the ceremony and would drive two cars so that they could all see the movie. Warren jumped on his phone and purchased the tickets for Star Trek: Into Darkness and they were set. The pairs went their separate ways in order to prepare for the festivities of the next day. As they began to walk off, Max heard another animal in the bushes scamper off.


	7. Chapter 7

The day of the graduation ceremony moved quickly. Max and Warren and their parents all met at the Two Whales diner and Joyce made them all a special breakfast to celebrate. They talked and laughed and enjoyed Joyce's wonderful cooking. David Madson even showed up to take part in the festivities. They all had a moment of silence for Chloe and Rachel and toasted their memories, after which Max and Warren's respective families then took leave of one another so they could move them out of their dorm rooms.

Max stood in the middle of what had been her room for the past nine months for a moment, just to bask in the memories she had made in that room. She missed her mural and her plant. She missed the late nights watching ridiculous movies with Warren and Kate. She missed the times she cried into Warren's shoulder or confided in Kate. She missed visiting with Victoria and Taylor even. Though Blackwell did leave a nasty stain in her memory, it also comprised her most formative moments. Like so many things in life, her time there had been the worst, but it had also the best.

She took in the moment until her dad gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go, Maxine." She nodded and left her Blackwell dorm room for the last time.

* * *

Several hundred people crowded the Blackwell gymnasium eager to see their newly graduating high schoolers receive their diplomas. Max felt a little crowded, and her gown was making her too warm, but she was excited nonetheless. She sat next to Victoria due to the alphabetical order the students were seated in.

Victoria turned and smiled, "You'll enjoy my valedictory, Max. I have something special in it."

Max smiled, excited to hear what Victoria had to say to her peers. She looked behind her and saw Warren a few rows back. He shot her a thumbs up and looked more excited than she did. She felt the butterflies in her stomach intensify as Principle Wells took the stage. He gave a short speech congratulating the students and their families. He opined about how proud he was of the class and how much they had overcome, and then he invited Victoria to the stage.

Max loved it. Her speech was impassioned and inspiring. Calling her fellow students to do what they loved and to change the world through their art. She told them to always treasure the experiences they'd had and the people they met during their time at Blackwell. Then she got a little more personal.

"We all know that we didn't have a typical high school experience here," she said, "and it wasn't just because we were blessed enough to come to such a prestigious private high school. I am so proud of our class. This class has overcome so much. We all endured a life-changing event not seven months ago. Many of us didn't know the individuals involved, but there were some of us that did." Max felt everyone look at her. "Two wonderful people who were students here were taken from us. It was tragic, but it was not meaningless. I know they impacted many of my friends. Their deaths changed us. They changed me. But far more than their deaths, I know their lives inspired us. I've become a far better person through their example, and through the example of those they loved. I hereby dedicate this day, this celebration, and this class' future to the memories of Rachel Amber and Chloe Price. May all of us who graduate today make them proud as they look over us from their perch in heaven. Thank you all! Congratulations everyone!"

The auditorium erupted as everyone stood for a raucous applause. Max felt the tears stream down her face and gave Victoria a long hug once she returned to her seat, which made the audience applaud all the louder. Max saw Joyce and David through the crowd and Joyce was predictably touched. She even saw David move a tear from his cheek.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur. Max walked up when her name was called and received her diploma. She knew the picture with Principal Wells would show her puffy red eyes, but she didn't care. This was for Chloe. After all the diplomas had been handed out, the students congregated in the middle of the gym. Max took Warren's hand and they smiled at each other as they, and all the other students, tossed their caps into the air.

* * *

It was around 6:30pm when Max and Warren finally made it to the parking lot to meet Kate and Luke. Warren's parents had already taken all of his stuff back to their house just outside of Arcadia Bay. Max's parents were going to stay one more night with her before they all headed back to Seattle together. They sat on Warren's hood talking about their summer plans, her head gently resting on his shoulder.

"I think we're going to visit my grandparents in July," Warren said, "but other than that I can be up to Seattle whenever you want."

"I can come down here too, you know," she replied.

"Do you really want to spend any time here in Arcadia Bay this summer?"

"I don't know. I should visit her grave every once in a while. God knows I didn't visit her when she was alive."

Warren gave her a squeeze as Kate and Luke skipped down the stairs and toward them.

"You guys ready?" Luke asked.

"Actually, I've got to grab some gas," Warren said, "we can just meet up at the drive-in if you want."

They agreed. Warren and Max climbed into Warren's old blue hatchback and it revved to life. He let Luke take off in front of them and they headed toward the gas station near the Two Whales. They pulled in and they waved at Luke and Kate as they continued on. "This should just take a sec. You want any snacks, Max?"

"Maybe we should grab some chips for the movie?"

He nodded as he finished filling the tank and then headed into the station. He returned shortly thereafter with a bag of snacks and some soda and they took off. The drive was about 60 miles, and Max already felt her eyes getting heavy before they'd even gone 15. "I'm not going to be very good driving company, Warren."

"It's been a long day. Take it easy."

She leaned her head up against the car window and closed her eyes. She felt so peaceful, she'd almost completely forgotten about the encounter they had in Seattle. She would have to talk to Warren about it eventually. She still hadn't had any visions. She'd heard no concerning weather reports. Nothing. Maybe the ripples that change caused weren't too dramatic. After all, even in chaos theory, not everything caused huge windstorms.

She heard a strange buzzing noise that seemed to be growing louder. She looked over at Warren who was concentrating on driving. She listened closer. It sounded like a car engine, but not Warren's. She looked to her right as the noise seemed to be intense now, and there was a truck bearing down on them not a foot away. It slammed into her side of Warren's car before she could react. Max heard metal grind and felt intense pain in her right side, and then knew nothing but darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

Max's next thoughts were about how much everything hurt. She was awash in pain and cried out when she tried to move. Her eyes slowly flickered open. She couldn't focus well at first. The room she was in was a blur, but she could tell it was very large and that she was right in the middle of it. Bright lights were ordered around her and she found the light another trigger for her aching head. Oh her aching head. She was immediately aware that she had the worst headache she had ever known, and then became aware of how wet and matted her hair felt on the right side of her head. She made an attempt to raise her right arm, but the excruciating pain that shot through her entire body, causing her to cry out again, revealed that her arm was broken. She wouldn't have been able to move it anyway because she found herself wrapped in duct tape. Her vision began to clear more and more and she took stock of her situation. Her left hand was strapped to the arm of the chair she was seated in and her right arm was pinned to her body with the tape. Her torso was taped to the back of the chair, and each of her legs was taped to the front two legs of the chair. Her shortness of breath told her that her lung was probably bruised, and she figured the wet matted feeling on her head was blood.

"FUCK!" she cried out, which also hurt.

A muffled mumbling drew her attention to her left where she saw Warren in a similar situation. He was also taped to a chair, and seemed to have a lot more surrounding his body. He also was handcuffed to a pole that he leaned against, and had tape across his mouth and around his head, preventing him from doing any more than gently muffled grunts. The left side of his face was swollen and bruised, completely preventing his left eye from opening. _Probably from his face hitting the window._

She saw the deep look of concern on his face, almost certainly from seeing her condition. "Warren I'm in bad shape," she said through gritted teeth, "everything hurts. My right arm is broken. I think my lung is at least bruised because I can't breathe very well."

He struggled viciously against his bonds, to no avail. Max tried to work her left hand free, but every movement sent shots of pain through her entire body. Her head screamed at her and she had to shut her eyes tight to get some relief. The lights felt especially warm and it seemed like 1,000 suns were shining on her whenever she opened her eyes. _Concussion. Bad one. This sucks,_ she thought.

"Did you break any bones?"

He shook his head. He was bruised up but didn't seem to have any other major injuries, though he had probably suffered a concussion as well.

She looked around the room with her cleared vision. They were in the center of a large empty warehouse. She could now see the lights were photography lamps. With shock she realized she was sitting in front of a white sheet. This was a makeshift photography studio!

"Ah Maxine, you're awake," a voice echoed through the empty building.

A dark figure she couldn't make out approached her from beyond the lighting. The figure appeared as a silhouette as it approached her and then slowly entered the light and she could make him out. He wore blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt, and his face belonged to someone she would never forget.

"Jefferson!" she cried. The pain shot through her again as her body tensed and she tried to get away. She began to panic, and it became even harder to breathe. Images of another time shot through her mind. Lying in his darkroom, unable to move or speak. Helpless as he approached her with a needle full of poison. _No no no it's happening again. NO!_

"NO!" she screamed again, almost involuntarily.

"Max, Max, Max." he said as he put his hands on her shoulders. She cried out again from the pain that coursed through her shoulder into her broken arm, "Oh sorry about that. Heh. Your arm is shattered. I almost forgot. I think I may have also gotten a rib or two. Well anyway, calm down, Max. You have to stay calm. I can't have you passing out again."

She felt the tears starting to roll down her face, but she began to compose herself, more or less. She glanced at Warren who was still struggling against his bonds and was glaring with a seething rage at Mr. Jefferson.

"I'm sorry for the whole hitting-you-with-a-truck thing," he said, "but I couldn't give you any warning. I couldn't have you rewinding time or whatever you call it."

That hit her almost as hard as the truck had. She stared at him in utter disbelief.

Jefferson must have seen the look of shock and dismay on her face. "Oh, yes. I know," he gave her a menacing smile. "In fact, Maxine, I know everything. I know you helped David Madson find my darkroom. I know you did it in multiple timelines. I know you've been in a situation like this before. I know about your entire silly adventure with your stupid friend. I know I killed her and several others. And I know about the carnage your adventure caused, and that you undid it all. I also know that it never turned out well for me."

He paused for a few seconds. "Well? Say something!"

She almost couldn't speak, but managed, "H-how?"

"Ah I'm pretty sure that was your doing actually, Maxine. You see, four nights ago I began having dreams. Extremely vivid dreams. Dreams I had no business having. I realized eventually they weren't dreams at all, but visions. Like a window into **your** past experiences. I saw everything that you went through during that week back in October. And then I saw you in Seattle use your…power. Again"

He stopped and looked over at the befuddled Warren. "Did she even ever tell you that you were supposed to have died in Seattle? Hilarious really. After everything she did and caused before, she couldn't let silly Warren be the victim of a random robbery." He chuckled at that, which infuriated Max. "So she used one of those silly pictures of hers to make it all go away. I guess she thought the risk was worth it."

Warren looked at Max with wide eyes. She averted her gaze, but spoke anyway. "He's right, Warren. I'm…I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I thought you'd make me go back and let you die. I just…I couldn't. Not again."

"But just like last time, Maxine, things aren't going well. Are they?"

"Go to hell," she said.

"Ah there's that spunk! Just like in my darkroom. Ah you really were the perfect subject. If only I hadn't been so damn stupid. I knew you had a gift. I just didn't realize how…powerful you were. Anyway, Maxine, recall all of the warnings you got before the tornado. The dead birds. The beached whales. All of the times your idiot friend died or was paralyzed. I know you're wondering why I, of all people, dreamed about all of your experiences. Well, you're looking at your warning for changing time in Seattle! Me! And one of the new disasters you caused is what allowed me to escape! A freak earthquake in the middle of nowhere that wrecked my prison transport bus!" He laughed harder.

"You'll notice the precautions I took this time," he continued, "no pictures lying scattered about. Oh I know you can rewind time a short way, and that's why when I make a decision I'm going to follow through on it regardless of what you say. You are immensely powerful Max, but even you can't change your fate. Not this time."

He stopped for a moment and raised his hands into a mock picture frame with her in the center. "And that's what this shoot is going to be about, Max. My obsession with innocence turning to corruption has passed. It was a silly fad. I am now obsessed with capturing weakness and hopelessness in powerful people. And Max, no one is more powerful than you."

"I'm so powerful I'm sitting here barely able to move," she growled incredulously.

"Nonsense. You've not only single-handedly created an entirely new reality and then destroyed it; you've created a mega-storm and a powerful localized earthquake. And you're creating an even bigger storm as we speak!"

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Goodness, Maxine!" he exclaimed. "You don't even know what you don't know." He sighed and pulled a newspaper off of a nearby table and showed her the weather section. In big large letters it exclaimed "Freak Pacific Northwestern Hurricane Forming: The Biggest Ever?"

Her head dropped. She glanced over at Warren who she could tell was mulling this new information over and he realized what it meant. Jefferson walked back to the table and dug around in Max's bag and pulled out her cell phone.

"There may be some pictures on here," he said as he waved it around in the air for a moment, before he smashed it into the ground, "but not anymore." He grinned at Max again as he framed her, this time through a camera he picked up off of the table. "It was so nice of the school not to have moved any of my equipment. It made it easy to collect during the graduation ceremony. Congratulations, by the way. Ugh Max I'm still not getting the reaction from you I need. I need utter despair. Hopelessness. Come on, you're going to be responsible for the deaths of thousand of people!"

She was attempting to make his job as difficult as possible, but it was difficult to hide the despair and hopelessness she did feel. Jefferson had clearly become even more unhinged in his prison stint, and now she was responsible for unleashing him on the world again. _Every time I try to help I screw everything up._

She shut her eyes trying to think of a way to get out of this. Even if she wanted to, her means of going back to stop this set of events from happening was now gone with her phone smashed into a dozen pieces on the floor of the warehouse. She could still rewind time in short intervals, but she didn't think she could do it much due to the terrible pain still pounding through her head. And it didn't sound like it was going to do much good with Jefferson committed to carrying out each of his actions.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the clicking of the shutter on Jefferson's camera. "No, no, these aren't coming out, Max," he grumbled. "We need something more."

She glared at him as he walked over to his table again and picked up a pistol. He turned and started toward his two prisoners.

Warren started thrashing around, trying desperately to free any part of his body while Max began pleading with Jefferson, "Wait! No! Talk to me! Tell me what you want me to do! Please!"

"Max this has to be spontaneous," he said as he stepped past her, "and a romantic tragedy is about as spontaneous as it gets."

He stood in front of Warren and pointed the gun at his forehead, "No offense, Mr. Graham. You're just another means to an end in this. You can rest easy knowing Ms. Caulfield did everything she could for you."

"No, Jefferson!" Max pleaded from across the room as tears began streaming down her cheeks again. "Stop! I'll do anything!"

Jefferson's determination didn't waver, and neither did the bullet as it passed through Warren's head in what seemed to Max like slow motion.


	9. Chapter 9

The scene rewound. The back of Warren's head reformed itself and the small hole in his forehead disappeared. The bullet slid back into the barrel of the pistol. Jefferson walked in reverse and set the gun back on the table and picked up the camera. Then he walked in reverse back to Max and unsnapped one picture before the pain in Max's head became overwhelming and she couldn't rewind the moment any further. Time began moving forward again.

The camera clicked and Jefferson paused, just as before, "No, no, these aren't coming out, Max. We need something more."

"Listen to me, Jefferson! I am hopeless here! Just snap the pictures now!"

But he was single minded at that point, and the scene played out just as it had. "You can rest easy knowing Ms. Caulfield did everything she could for you." BANG!

The scene reversed again, and then the camera clicked, "No, no, these aren't coming out, Max. We need something more."

"Damn it Jefferson, talk to me!"

BANG! The scene reversed again.

"Please, Jefferson! You son of a bitch!" BANG!

It kept happening. Over and over Max witnessed Jefferson murder Warren, and over and over she kept undoing it. Blood began to stream from her nose and down her chin, mixing with the tears that she couldn't stop shedding. Seven times, eight times. She kept rewinding. She was not going to accept this.

Click. "No, no, these aren't coming out, Max. We need something more."

"Jefferson stop this! I'm not going to let it progress!"

This time he stopped and looked at her. Her face was beet red and blood was dripping from her chin. She looked dazed and dizzy.

"So you know what's coming then? And you still can't stop it, can you?" he asked as he walked to the table again and grabbed the pistol. "This is going to be a great session, then!"

"We're never going to leave this moment, Jefferson!" she screamed at him. "Do you want to do this forever!?"

"Only you're going to know, Max," he said.

BANG! She reversed again, but felt sharp stabbing pains in her head this time. She wasn't going to be able to keep this up. BANG! She reversed again. The blood coming from her nose intensified, as did the pain in her head. BANG! She reversed time again, but then felt herself beginning to lose consciousness. Her vision tunneled as the scene played out again and she reversed once more and then passed out.

* * *

Max sensed the sunlight on her face as the change in brightness woke her up. Her eyes fluttered open. Two names scribbled among measurements lined the wall vertically in front of her: Chloe, Max. She sat up. The sunlight peeked through the window on the other side of the room. The dust in the air mad it seem like she could reach out and grab the sunlight.

Max shook her head to try to clear the sleep from her mind. Her attention was drawn to the window the sunlight was pouring in through. Chloe sat at her desk tapping away at her keyboard. Her blue hair glistened in the sunlight.

"C-Chloe?"

The blue haired girl turned around and smiled. "Hey dude, looks like you're finally up! Now we can work on this problem!"

Max wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. Had she traveled through time after changing the past again?

"Chloe I'm not exactly sure what we're doing."

Chloe looked at her with a grin. "Have you been careening through time again, Time Warrior?"

"I don't know," Max shook her head again. Trying to free memories that seemed inaccessible.

Chloe stood up and walked over to where Max sat on the edge of her bed. Max saw a look of pity and sadness on her friend's face. Chloe sighed and sat down next to her. "Max, when we were younger you told me to be strong. You told me you'd always be there for me. I know we didn't see much of each other for a while there, but when we were reunited you made good on those promises."

Max looked at her and nodded slightly, still somewhat confused. Chloe wrapped her arms around Max's neck. "Just know that I'm going to repay the favor. I'm going to help you with our problem." She pushed her back and looked at her. "You have to wake up again, Max."

Max didn't understand. "What do you mean, Chloe? I am awake."

Chloe shook her head, her blue hair slightly bobbing back and forth. "Not yet you aren't Max, but I'll be there when you are."

She put her hands on Max's shoulders and suddenly shoved her off the edge of the bed. Max began to fall, and she kept falling even after she should have hit the floor. She pivoted in midair as she fell and could make out several figures on the quickly approaching ground. She could make out her own figure, strapped to a chair. She saw Warren near her in the same predicament. And she saw the other figure in mid stride with a pistol. Everything suddenly rushed back to her as she was engulfed into her figure on the ground.

* * *

Gasping, Max's head shot upright. The headache returned immediately, followed by the aches that shot through her whole body. The warehouse was eerily quiet as she tried to re-acclimate herself to her surroundings. Everything was still. Frozen at a moment in time. Jefferson was in mid stride immediately in front of her, a sick determined grin on his face and a pistol in his hand. She saw Warren, bound by a ton of duct tape, frozen as he was attempting to wriggle free.

 _I must have frozen time and passed out,_ she thought. At least she had some time to try to think through the predicament. _But what was that dream about: with Chloe? Was it even real?_

Some movement among the otherwise frozen scene suddenly drew her attention to her right. A single blue butterfly began to flutter down from the rafters. The light from the photography lamps reflected off its bright silky wings as it fluttered toward her. Then she noticed another, and another. Suddenly there were hundred and thousands of blue butterflies swooping in from the rafters. Wind began to swirl up around Max as the many butterflies circled her. Through the veil of butterflies, Max could make out a single deer approaching from the far end of the warehouse.

The butterflies began to coalesce in front of her. Little by little they seemed to be congregating into a discernable figure. A human figure! The head formed, followed by the torso, the arms, and the legs. Max blinked and there stood her familiar blue-haired friend, smiling at her. Behind Chloe Max looked for the deer, but only saw a blonde-haired girl approaching. One whose face she'd seen on so many posters.

"Damn Max, you look hella terrible," Chloe said.

Max was too surprised to speak. She gawked at her friend. "Chloe. How?"

"I told you I'd be here for you, Max," Chloe responded.

"But, I saw them bury you," Max said, still not believing what she was seeing was real.

"Yeah, and we still are buried," Chloe said motioning to Rachel, who was now standing next to her, "at least our bodies are."

"So you're…ghosts?" Max asked, still skeptical. She noticed that both girls were somewhat translucent, as faint light from the lamps was still visible passing through their forms.

"Dude, you're sitting in the middle of a moment frozen in time. Is it so hard to believe that a couple of ghosts would visit you? Or maybe we're just a vision. A couple of hella awesome echoes held here by a thirst for revenge or some shit." Chloe laughed, "Does it really need an explanation? Have you ever gotten an explanation for any of the weird shit that's happened to us?"

That was one of the more reasonable things Max had heard in a while.

"Max, this jackass is right about one thing," Chloe said motioning to Jefferson, "you're hella powerful. You don't even know how powerful you are or what you can accomplish."

"Chloe, I can't even get out of this chair. My arm is shattered, and even if I did get free I'm not sure I can even walk at this point."

"That's part of the problem, dude. You're holding yourself back!"

"It feels like my awful headache is holding me back more than anything," Max responded, shaking her head.

Chloe knelt down next to her friend. "Look, Max, I know this sucks. And I think it's going to probably suck some more. But you CAN save yourself and Mr. White-Knight over there. Jefferson is nothing. He's only a blip on the radar in this thing. You can vaporize that SOB without a second thought. I'm not sure about that hurricane, though."

Max shook her head vigorously, "I don't have a photo to go back and change anything, Chloe. And even if I did I don't think I could. I can't keep losing people I love!"

Chloe looked at Max sadly, "You may not have to, Max. But they may have to lose you. All you have to do here is let yourself go. Release the rage and anger here and you can stop Jefferson easily. But to stop the hurricane you made, you may have to pour absolutely everything into it."

Max looked at her friend and nodded slowly as understanding sunk in. She then looked to Warren and a well of emotion rose in her chest, "But…Warren."

Chloe tried to put her hand on her friend's shoulder, but it passed through like it didn't exist. She just looked at her solemnly and said, "I know dude."

Chloe's form began to waver. Max noticed several butterflies began to shed from her blue hair. Rachel walked over and placed her hand on Chloe's shoulder and whispered in her ear. Chloe nodded and turned to Max once more.

"We have to go Max. We're all out of…well we're out of time," she said winking and smiling.

"I miss you Chloe. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you," she said, her eyes beginning to well up with tears again.

"You had to save everyone else, Max, just like I know you will again. Don't worry; we'll be with you, till the end." She then pointed to Jefferson, "Kill that son of a bitch for us, would you?"

Chloe and Rachel turned and walked toward the exit at the far end of the empty warehouse. Their forms began to flicker until all Max could make out were a few blue butterflies and a single deer. Then they disappeared. The room was quiet and still once more.

Max had a moment to compose herself and prepare for what she soon had to do. She wasn't completely sure what she was doing, but the multiple times she had seen Jefferson shoot her boyfriend had seriously pissed her off, and the conversation with Chloe had emboldened her. She felt something welling up inside of her. Something she didn't know if she could control.


	10. Chapter 10

Warren was pissed. He was consumed with a deep rage that was overwhelming his fear from having been kidnapped by a psycho who was supposed to be in jail. Max was supposed to be safe from this monster. She was supposed to have been able to avoid this torture, at least in this reality. Max had told him bits and pieces about her experience in Jefferson's dark room. Drugged and helpless, she was forced to jump from reality to reality until she had no more realities to jump to. David Madson had been able to rescue her, to which Warren had always been beyond grateful for.

But now this was their reality. He sat completely unable to move, at least two layers of duct tape keeping him in his chair, and a pair of handcuffs locking him to a metal support to boot. Jefferson was busy trying to frame Max in his camera. The sick bastard now was the only other person other than he and Max herself that knew of the other realities, of their secret, and he was reveling in his revenge and his new sick obsession. Max looked really bad. Her face was red and blood was running down her nose. Had it been like that the whole time? He wasn't sure. _She was just hit with a truck,_ he reminded himself. He was furious and sick to his stomach at the injuries she'd sustained, and was angry with himself that he hadn't been able to protect her. Her pretty face bruised and her delicate mangled arm kept running through his mind. Warren began struggling again, trying to break free so he could beat Jefferson to death.

"No, no, these aren't coming out, Max," Warren heard Jefferson say, "We need something more."

He watched Jefferson set his camera down on his table and pick up a dark object. A gun. Warren's adrenaline began pumping through his veins as he began thrashing desperately against his restraints. He watched as Jefferson passed Max and walked straight towards him. Warren thought things seemed to be moving in slow motion as he watched Jefferson raise the gun and point it right at his face. Warren then became aware of a slight breeze blowing around him that seemed to be getting stronger.

Suddenly a loud booming voice pierced Warren's reality. "JEFFERSON!" He would have covered his ears if his hands had been free. The voice seemed like it was right in the middle of his head. It was immense and inescapable.

The breeze had turned into a swift wind and Warren saw Jefferson turn toward Max, a look of complete shock on his face. Warren followed the gaze toward his girlfriend and his mouth opened in shock. The wind was coming from Max. All around her dust was kicking up. Her hair blew furiously toward the ceiling. Most surprising were her eyes, which were glowing a bright yellow like the sun.

Jefferson dropped back a couple of steps. "Wh-what is going on!?" he yelled.

Warren watched as Max, chair and all, began to slowly lift off the ground. The wind grew stronger and Warren thought Max's entire body was starting to glow. The duct tape surrounding his girlfriend began to simply dissolve around her until the chair she had been strapped to dropped to the floor and then was blown behind her across the warehouse floor. She straightened her body and seemed to be glaring at Jefferson. Her feet remained a foot or so off the ground. Her broken right arm hung down to her waist as her left arm was held out in front of her.

Jefferson looked like he'd seen enough, and he began firing the gun at Max. He fired until the slide locked back and the pistol was empty. Warren thought he saw a slight grin form in the corner of Max's mouth, and she seemed to glow even brighter. Not one bullet seemed to have hit her.

Max opened her mouth, and the consuming sound that pierced Warren's head was there again, "JEFFERSON, EAT SHIT AND DIE!"

Suddenly a pulse of power and light exploded from Max, which launched her backward. The shockwave blew Warren back as far as his handcuffs would allow as well. He had to adjust his view as the pulse headed right for Jefferson. His eyes were wide and his mouth opened to scream, but Warren couldn't hear him over the gale of wind and the echoes of Max's enhanced voice ringing in his ears. The pulse hit Jefferson and his face began to seemingly melt away. Flesh and then muscle was ripped off until only patches of red remained on his skull. His upper body also took the blast, which removed Jefferson's flesh from his ribcage and the portions of his arms that faced Max. Warren was stunned as Jefferson's body dropped to its knees, and then fell forward onto what was left of his face.

Warren's heart was pounding as hard as he thought it ever had, and his mind was having trouble processing what he'd just seen. He stared wide-eyed at Jefferson for another moment and then slowly looked back to Max. Her teeth were gritted and her face was straining. Veins pulsed on her forehead and she was breathing very heavily. Her body was still glowing slightly and the gale of wind was still blowing all around her, but soon it began to subside. Her glow seemed to fade and her body began to sink back to the ground. The gale began to subside and her breathing began to normalize. Her feet touched the ground, and then she sunk to her knees. After a few moments Warren could tell she was sobbing softly. He tried to call to her, but his voice was still muffled by the duct tape. She looked up and her face brightened slightly when they made eye contact.

"Warren!" she exclaimed. She stood up slowly and shakily, her right arm still dangling. With her left hand she gently grabbed it to keep it from moving and cringed. Warren could tell she was in a lot of pain as she limped her way toward him.

She reached him and cupped his face in her left hand as she knelt down in front of him. She stared into his un-swollen eye for a moment, and he could tell she was trying to make sure he was really there. He stared back, trying to reassure her. Tears were still streaming from her piercing blue eyes. She pulled the duct tape from his face as gently as she could.

"Holy shit, Max," he whispered.

"Warren, I saw you die so many times. I'm so sorry," she cried as she wrapped her left arm around his neck for a moment, before backing off and giving him a thankful kiss.

"Max, what are you talking about? Don't be sorry! You just saved us! I don't know how, but…holy shit!"

"I-I don't either exactly," she said as she started to work at the tape binding Warren with her free hand, "I saw Chloe, Warren."

Warren felt he should have been surprised at that, but he really wasn't. This was another one of those days where nothing could surprise him.

Max continued, "She told me that I could beat Jefferson. She told me I could stop the hurricane."

Warren had almost forgotten about that, "I guess we're going to have to talk about that. But Max we've got to get out of here and get you to a hospital!"

"I don't think we have time, Warren. I have to get to the coast! I have to stop that storm! I can' let it hurt all those people!"

Warren noticed that she wasn't making much progress with the tape only using one hand and he began to look around for something to cut it with, "We'll talk about that later. Can you find something to cut me out with? I don't think we're going to make any progress like this."

She stepped away briefly and returned with a couple of pens from her bag. Once she was able to poke a hole through the tape it began to tear more easily. Warren was finally able to free his right arm and started tearing the rest of the tape off. He stood up and was able to stretch his legs finally.

"He's probably got the keys to these cuffs on him or on the table," he said yanking slightly on the metal bracelet holding him to the metal support.

She shuddered slightly, and he could tell she really didn't want to search the remains of Mark Jefferson. Luckily for her she found the keys on the table. The camera had fallen on the ground and had broken during the ruckus Max had caused. She limped back over to Warren and freed him from the cuffs and then fell into him exhausted. He grabbed her protectively, making extra sure to be careful with her wounded arm. Reaching down, he picked her up and cradled her light form as he walked toward the nearest exit. Neither of them looked back at the scene of devastation they were leaving. They both had a lot to talk about, but neither had the energy. They just wanted to go home.

* * *

 **Okay guys, I know this chapter might be a little controversial. Yes, I just gave Max DBZ-esque powers, but I think it makes sense. She can control time, I don't think it's that far-fetched that she can control space to a degree as well.**

 **Anyway, I hope you're still enjoying the story. I'm having a blast writing it. I'm trying to give some allusions to certain events in the game, such as Max's last words to Jefferson. Maybe you can see some others?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry this chapter took a month to get out. I've been finishing up this semester and have been generally busy. But we're heading into the final stretch of this story. I hope everyone has enjoyed it so far. I appreciate all the reviews! The next few chapters will be out more quickly than this one.**

* * *

Warren stumbled out of the warehouse and into a large vacant lot with Max still in his arms. It was mostly dark with only a few streetlamps dotting the lot at regular intervals. There were no cars in the lot except for a couple of junkers that looked like they had been parked there for a while. Max could hear the ocean behind the building crashing against the shoreline. They were still near the coast, which meant they might not be far from their original route.

She smelled fish and presumed that some of the other large warehouses around them must be canneries of some sort. Warren began to head for the exit of the complex of warehouses. In one of the nearby parking spaces she spotted an old pickup truck that had clearly been in an accident. The bumper had been bent back into the radiator and there was a green puddle under it. Jefferson must not have traveled too far from where he'd hit them.

Warren kept walking and Max noticed that the complex was at the bottom of a large hill. She heard the faint sound of car tires patting the road at the top of the hill. The complex was in a ravine right next to a road.

"We can flag someone down once I make it to the top of the hill," Warren said as he began looking for the best path up.

The grass was damp in the cool evening air. Max was a little afraid he'd slip and fall on her if he tried to carry her up the hill.

"Why don't you let me see if I can make it up, Warren?" she asked.

He looked at her with some concern. "Are you sure you can make it?"

She nodded. He set her down and they began navigating the wet hill. She became keenly aware of how much she hurt as she tried to exert the physical effort necessary to climb the small hill. Her head began to pound again and she felt the extreme dizziness set in. She stopped and lowered herself gingerly onto the ground.

"I'll wait here. Just get some help," she said.

"I don't want you out of my sight," he said.

She glanced sideways at him with whatever semblance of a smirk she could muster. "Warren I can rewind time. If something happens down here you'll hear from me before it does."

He still looked concerned, but he gave her a smile and scurried up the hill. Max took the moment alone to decompress and be alone with her thoughts. So much had happened so quickly. The drastic contrast from earlier when she was looking forward to finally seeing a movie at the drive-in with Warren, to then being forced to kill her former teacher with super-powers she didn't understand, it was almost inconceivable. The irony of being prevented from going to the drive in again caused her to chuckle slightly.

She looked up at the night sky. It was so clear and peaceful she was almost able to put the pain in her head and arm out of her mind. Almost. The moon was full and large. It seemed to flicker into two images, but Max blinked and looked again and only saw the one. She sighed, not really caring if this was another premonition or if it was a result of her concussion. She already knew difficult decisions lied ahead, and she was really sick of difficult decisions.

She felt warmth next to her as Warren snapped her out of her thoughts. He took her arm gently and helped her to her feet as she became aware of flashing red and blue lights all around. Several police cars drove down the entrance ramp and into the parking lot, followed by a white ambulance. Two men in light green stepped out of the ambulance and opened the back. They pulled out a stretcher and rolled it over to her and instructed her to sit down on it. One noticed her arm and motioned to the other and he grabbed an inflatable cast. They wrapped it around her arm and inflated it and then had her lay down. As they secured her and lifted her into the back of the ambulance she could see Warren talking with a police officer and pointing to the warehouse they had just exited. _How are we going to explain what happened in there?_

Warren and one of the paramedics climbed into the back of the ambulance and sat down next to each other.

"You're going to be fine, Maxine," the paramedic said as he placed an oxygen mask on her, "we're going to get you to the hospital and we'll contact your parents."

Warren grabbed her hand and she felt the ambulance begin to pull out of the lot. It started down the highway and she felt the gentle patter of the tires on the road.

"It's Max, never Maxine," she told the paramedic.

* * *

Things were crazy at the hospital. Between the treatment, the high of the painkillers, the setting of her arm, the multiple interviews with police officers about the events at the warehouse, and her parents absolutely losing their minds when they saw her, Max just wanted some time to sleep. But at the moment her dad was pacing nervously at the foot of her hospital bed as her mom and Warren's parents pelted him with questions.

He had been diagnosed with a concussion as well, but was able to mostly sit next to her with an ice pack on his face. But then her parents stormed in in a panic, followed shortly after by his parents, who were also in a panic. After some initial frantic excitement, things had calmed down and Warren had been handling it fairly well. Max had mostly tried to sleep through it so hadn't really said anything to them since they'd arrived.

"The police told us that man murdered at least three people making it down here. Why did he want you two so badly?" she heard her mom say.

"I don't know," Warren's weary voice squeaked out.

Warren's mom still sounded just as hyper, "It's so frightening. Oh I don't know what I'd have done if you two hadn't escaped. I'm so glad you did. How did you get out? How did Jefferson die? What on earth happened in there?"

The police had been very interested in how two teenagers had melted the front of a human being off of his skeleton. Neither of them had an answer for the police and simply told them they couldn't remember. She and Warren had decided that telling them about her…uh…super powers probably wasn't the best idea at this point. Thankfully the police were keeping that quiet for the moment, so her parents didn't know, but Max worried about what would come next. Would they call in the government? Would she soon be sitting in some lab being poked and prodded? She didn't like that idea much more than she did posing for Jefferson's sick obsessions.

The parents grilled Warren for a little longer until Max decided that she'd had enough. She opened her eyes and used the console on the side of her hospital bed to lift herself into a seated position.

"Oh Maxine!" her mother said in almost a whisper as she finally saw her daughter's bruised face clearly for the first time. She stepped up to Max and ran her hand gently down her face. Max winced slightly as the touch smarted a bit. Her mother yanked her hand away and apologized.

"No, it's okay mom," she said, "I'm really glad you're here. I didn't know if I'd see you again."

Her father approached and knelt down to give her a kiss on her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Maxine. So sorry you had to go through something like that."

After some more family time, Max advised the parents that she was very tired and really just wanted to rest. It was getting very late and the parents agreed to get some rest and allow her to rest as well. It was finally just Max and Warren, and for some time they sat in silence. How long had it been since she'd just been able to enjoy a quiet moment? She felt like she should feel more traumatized than she did, but maybe her adventures a few months prior had made her more calloused than she realized. While she wasn't thrilled about having just killed someone mere hours ago, she certainly didn't feel like it was going to gnaw at her conscience. She'd seen Mark Jefferson do too many evil and despicable things to people she loved to dwell much on his gruesome demise. But she did care deeply about the hurricane she knew she had caused.

"Warren," she said. It almost came out as a whisper and she had to repeat herself to get him to answer.

"Yeah, Max?"

"Have you heard anything else about the hurricane?"

He was quiet for a moment, and then another moment. She felt like she should repeat herself, but he finally answered, "It's all over the news: biggest Northwestern hurricane ever, blah blah blah. They say it'll hit in the next day."

She hung her head. It was suddenly becoming real to her, even more real than the Arcadia Bay tornado. Chloe had said she could stop it, but had made it sound like there would be ominous consequences. Honestly though, she was finding it hard to care if anything happened to her. She needed her friends and family to be safe. There was no way she was going back to let Warren die at the hands of some random punks in Seattle, even if there were a way she could go back. Jefferson had seen to ending that possibility, to which she was slightly grateful to him. Even if it cost her own life, she was going to stop this.

Warren's soft voice suddenly shook her from her thoughts, "Did you really change time for me, Max?"

"Yes, and I should have told you, Warren. But I knew you'd make me go back, and I just can't do that again."

He sat for a minute and then scooted closer to her bed and grabbed her free hand and they shared a soft smile. She broke the silence again, "I can stop it Warren. Without having to sacrifice you."

"How do you know? You know I'm willing to go if it will save people."

"I know it sounds nuts, but I did see Chloe before I fried Jefferson. She's the one who revealed the fact that I could actually do that. She said I could stop the hurricane, Warren. We just have to go to the coast."

"Max, we just got the shit kicked out of us," he said gently, "and there are cops everywhere. Even if we could get out of here on our own two feet, I don't think there's any way to get past them."

She smiled and pinched his arm gently, "Uh hello, time powers?"

Warren finally relented, "Look, Max, I don't think we should. I just want that out there. I have a really bad feeling about it, but I know you're not going to listen and I'm not going to let you go alone. So…we'll need a car."


	12. Chapter 12

The first order of business for the wounded duo was to sneak out of the hospital. Technically this wasn't illegal because neither of them had been detained or arrested, but they knew the police wanted to question them further, and the hospital clearly would make a stink about two people with their injuries sneaking out before they'd been medically cleared. But Max knew that she simply didn't have time to waste, which she thought was fairly ironic given her abilities.

As Max began to gingerly get out of her hospital gown and into actual clothes, she had Warren sneak a peek to see what the police presence looked like. With some difficulty, she slipped her t-shirt over her head with one arm. The large cast that ran the length of her arm was making it difficult to get it through the sleeve, so she had Warren come over and help her manipulate it through. Then she found out how hard putting shoes on with just one arm was as well, so Warren helped her slip them on and tied them for her as well.

"It looked like there was just one officer down the hall. He's distracted by the nurse at the reception desk at the moment, but I'm not sure how long that's going to last," Warren informed her after they were both ready to go.

"Okay," she said, "if anyone catches either of us I'll rewind and we'll find another way."

Max wanted this to go off with as few complications as possible. There just wasn't time to explain to her parents what was going on, and there was no way they'd just let their daughter drive straight for the largest freakiest hurricane in the history of the Northwest. Warren's parents probably wouldn't be happy that they were planning on taking their car to get there either.

They crept to the hospital room door and Warren slowly opened it again. Max peeked out beside him and saw the officer still down the hall chatting with the pretty nurse. The other way there were a few people but it wasn't too congested. It wouldn't be too hard to get to the elevators, and from there the exit was very close.

It only took two rewinds to get to the elevator. Once they got to the lobby there were a lot of people, but they didn't see anyone that would be familiar with their situation. They kept their heads down, crossed to the exit, and stepped out into the cool early morning air. The sun was peeking over the horizon and they'd have to hurry if they were going to get to Warren's house and grab one of his parent's cars before they woke up. Arcadia Bay wasn't huge, but it was still several blocks from the small hospital to the Graham household, and in their condition it was going to take longer than normal.

Half way through the parking lot to the sidewalk, a car suddenly screeched to a stop right in front of them. Max prepared to rewind if she needed to, but lowered her hand when she saw who the occupants of the car were. Kate jumped out of the passenger side and immediately covered her mouth with her hand upon seeing the battered faces of her friends. Max could see Luke in the driver's seat looking just as surprised as his date.

"Oh my gosh you guys! What are you doing out here!?" she screeched. "We were just coming in to see you! We looked for you all night until your mom called and said you were here!"

Max looked at Warren and could tell he had the same idea as she did, "Kate, we need a ride."

Suddenly Victoria stepped out of the backseat of Luke's car, "Oh my gosh, Max! Warren! You two look terrible! Why on earth are you two out here?" There was genuine concern in her voice and on the faces of all three of their friends.

"We really need to go, guys," Warren cut in. "Can we fill you in on the way? We really need a ride."

Their friends seemed to be mulling around both their request and the shock at seeing their injured friends in the parking lot instead of in hospital rooms. Kate looked across the hood of the car at Victoria and Luke and nodded. They all piled in Luke's car; Max, Warren and Victoria in the back.

"Where are we going?" Luke asked.

"Are you guys up for a bit of a road trip?" Max asked. "We need to get to the coast west of Seattle."

"What!? That's like a 5 hour drive! And you do know that there's a massive hurricane heading right for there, right?!" Victoria exclaimed. "Why on earth…"

"Guys I'm going to tell you something that you're probably not going to believe…" Max started as she began to tell them her story.

* * *

The car was quiet as Luke pulled off the road and into a small gas station. They'd been driving north for two hours and Max had been talking for most of it. At times nearer to the end of her story Warren was able to give her voice a spell and describe things that had happened to them the night before. Luke got out to pump gas and Victoria got out to get some drinks for everyone after Max had expressed how tired she was and how much her head was hurting. Warren was in pain too. His face was throbbing and he handed her a few dollars and asked her to get some painkillers as well.

Max had told them pretty much everything about her experience several months back. She had softened some details, but was still forthright about Kate's suicide attempt and what had happened with Victoria, Nathan, and Mr. Jefferson. She had revealed her own traumatic experience, and had choked up when she told them about her impossible decision and the heroic sacrifice Chloe had made.

Kate was turned around and looking at her while still trying to process everything she'd said. Max was leaning her head back and had her eyes closed while trying to block out the bright sun that was assaulting her head.

"Max," she finally softly broke the silence, "I really don't know what to say. That was a lot to take in."

"I'm sorry to pile it all on you guys like that," Max replied very softly, "I just needed everyone to understand what's going on. I really appreciate you guys going with us. It's dangerous and I'm not entirely sure what to expect. Thank you for trusting us. I'm not sure we could have made this drive alone in our condition."

Kate smiled, "Max we're friends. There's no way we wouldn't help you out." After a short pause Kate continued, "Even though I don't remember it…thanks for talking me down off that roof."

Max opened her eyes and smiled at Kate, "You already thanked me. Well in that reality. Like you said, we're friends."

"I think you should at least text your parents, Max, and let them know you're okay. They're probably worried sick about you." Max agreed with Kate and accepted her phone and typed a quick message out to her mom telling her not to worry and that she was doing something she had to do, and that she loved her and her dad.

Victoria returned with several drinks and a bottle of Advil. She opened one and handed it to Max and then one to Warren as well. "You guys need to get some fluids in you. It's so ridiculous that you aren't in your hospital beds right now."

"Thanks Victoria," Max said as she popped 3 of the Advil and then handed the bottle to Warren, who popped 4.

"Thank you, Max. For trusting us with this. Whatever we can do to help just let us know."

Max leaned her head back again to rest before having to expend herself to stop a hurricane. _I think I have to do this one on my own, Victoria._

* * *

As they approached the small coastal town they became keenly aware of how empty it was. They had been one of the few cars actually headed toward the coast, and it was becoming more and more evident by the moment why. Luke pulled the car off the road into a small parking lot. Ahead they could all make out the flashing of emergency lights and saw police trying to guide traffic out of the small town. People who had decided to flee the storm at the last moment were a priority for emergency services.

Max couldn't see the ocean where they had parked. They would have to climb to the top of a nearby bluff with, believe it or not, a lighthouse sitting atop of it. The sky was getting darker by the moment and rain began to patter the top of Luke's car. Bits of litter began to whip up around them. The storm was very close at this point.

"I've got to make it to the top of that bluff guys. I have to see the storm, and then figure out how to stop it," she said pointing toward the lighthouse. "None of you have to go. It's too dangerous and I really shouldn't ask you all to do any more."

Warren grabbed her hand and gave her a sideways smile. She knew he wasn't going to let her go alone, but she really did hope that the rest decided to stay. No one else needed to be in danger because of her time travel faux pas.

"Max, you have to know we're going with you," Kate said.

Victoria put a hand on her shoulder, "There's no way you're going through this alone. Not again."

Luke put up his hand for a high five, and she returned it after a moment. "We're all going, Max."

They all piled out of the car, and Max suddenly realized how strong the wind was getting. The rain began to sting slightly as it hit her face. She could hear the rushing winds in the distance. She shuddered slightly as they approached the base of the bluff and a foreboding feeling began to well up in her gut. Somehow she knew that the end of this story was close. Her mind recalled Chloe's prediction briefly, but she shook her head, determined not to allow selfish concerns deter her from her mission. She was going to stop this storm if it was the last thing she did.


	13. Chapter 13

The climb up the hill toward the bluff top was cold, windy, and wet. Rain pelted the group of friends as they made their way. The darkness had overtaken them and they were being led by the light from Luke's cell phone. Trees swayed and the rain stung as it pelted their faces. The wind was becoming deafening. Max stumbled forward but Warren caught her and flashed her a quick smile as they continued to work their way upward. Her heart sunk. Would she ever get to see that smile again?

She looked up and could see the base of the lighthouse. They'd reached the top and she finally stood face to face with her creation. Gazing out over the pacific, the view suddenly ended at a giant wall of clouds that extended in both directions for hundreds of miles. It was enormous. It was laughing at her. Mocking her.

The foreboding feeling in Max's gut was reaching panic-attack levels. She could feel herself beginning to lose nerve. Her breathing was becoming rapid and erratic. Her vision began to tunnel. The world around her began to become blurry. She shut her eyes tight and tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down, but it didn't seem to be working. Then everything became quiet. She no longer heard the raging storm and she no longer felt the sting of the cold rain against her skin. Max opened her eyes and realized time had stopped. Before her a group of blue butterflies swirled in unison as they formed themselves into her friend once more. Beside Chloe a deer approached and phased into Rachel Amber.

"Hey Max," Chloe said.

"Chloe…" Max started, but she was still trying to breathe.

Chloe approached and put her arm around her friend and looked out at the now frozen but still massively intimidating storm. "Shit, Max. That thing is hella more terrifying than that puny tornado you made."

Max had begun to calm down. Talking to Chloe always did make her feel better. "Chloe, I'm here. I'm going to stop that thing, but I don't know how."

The look on Chloe's face changed, "Max…like I said. You're going to have to put everything into it to stop that storm."

"So…does that mean I have to die?" Max asked hesitantly.

Chloe looked down, and then back to Max. Her face was sullen and sad.

Max took a moment to think. She had been prepared for this since she learned she could stop the storm. She knew she was ready to end the steady stream of nightmares. She **was** going to save all the people she put in danger. She was resolute and willing to give her own life to save her friends, her family, and thousands of strangers. But…she looked over to Warren and her resolution wavered.

"I don't want to leave my friends or…him. Chloe, what will they do? I'm going to break his heart! I don't know if I can bear that."

"Max, I thought the same thing when I made my decision for Arcadia Bay. But you lived on. My mother lived on. Step-dou…David…he lived on. People will grieve. Mr. White Knight will grieve. It sucks for a while. We can keep watch over them, and you'll live on in their memory. But just like before, this is your decision. You can take all your friends back to the car and go back to Arcadia Bay if you want."

It all came down to this then. Again Max was faced with a really shitty decision. But she'd already made up her mind. "I need to say goodbye to him," she said, letting Chloe in on her decision.

"We can help with that," Chloe responded.

She nodded to Rachel who then walked over to Warren and touched his shoulder. He suddenly jerked into motion and was clearly startled. Max grabbed his hand and urged him to calm down.

"It's okay Warren," she said as he looked around frantically, "it's okay. Time is frozen right now."

"Max, what is going on?" He looked at Chloe and then at Rachel Amber and his eyes grew wide. "Wow, you weren't kidding."

"Yeah. This is…this is a little piece of me I guess. This is what I can do."

"It's incredible, Max. Wow." Warren was clearly in awe, not just of his surroundings, but also at the fact that his girlfriend really could do this. He'd always believed her, but seeing the whole world at a standstill around him with his own eyes was more than illuminating. "So what are we doing? Is this part of the plan?"

Max pulled herself in close to him and buried her head in his chest. She felt him tense briefly, but then he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She didn't want this to end.

"Warren. I…I can stop the storm. But…" how was she supposed to tell him? Words didn't seem to be the right way to convey what she felt, but they were all she had. "I'm going to die, Warren."

She stepped back and looked him in the eyes. His reaction broke her heart. His face sunk. He looked down at their feet briefly and then back to her eyes. He took her by the shoulders. "No," he said firmly, "no it's not going to go like that. I'd rather die than you. Go back to the restaurant! Let me take the bullet that was meant for me! There's no way…!"

She shook her head and placed her hand on his face. The tears began to flow down her cheeks, mingling with the frozen raindrops. She wanted to keep this moment forever. She wanted to stay with him. "The picture to the past is gone, Warren. And I have to stop meddling with the past. It has to stop here. And I can stop the storm and my powers right here and now."

He sunk to his knees and she knelt down beside him. "Why did this happen, Max? We're damned if you do damned if you don't! It doesn't make any sense!"

"I know. But it's different this time. This time I know I can save everyone. Everyone. Even…especially you." With that she cupped his face in her good hand and pulled him towards her. Their lips met and it was like an explosion in her head. He grabbed her and pulled her close to him and prolonged the kiss. It was deep and meaningful. She feared she would lose her nerve to stop the storm if she didn't stop. Suddenly the wind whipped up around them again as time resumed. The cold rain hit their faces and masked their tears; just a few droplets of water among millions. And then their kiss was over and she pulled away from him. Chloe and Rachel were gone.

"I love you Warren. I'm sorry this happened, but I have to make this choice. I had to save you. At least you get to live."

"Max, don't do this. Please! Let's just run away! We can still get away!" Warren pleaded through stifled sobs.

Their friends looked on confused. The sudden mood change of both Warren and max clearly took Kate, Luke, and Victoria by surprise. Kate yelled to Max and Warren over the rushing gale, "What's going on? What's the matter, guys?"

Max turned to her other friends and waved with a small sad smile on her face. Kate knew it meant something ominous and felt her heart drop.

Max stepped closer to the edge of the cliff. The hurricane was enormous! It really was the biggest ever. Unprecedented. It would kill so many people. She began to rise off the ground as she had the day before. The rain stopped hitting her as wind began to rush outward from her body. Her eyes began to glow and she started to float toward the hurricane.

Warren looked on helplessly at her from the cliff as she began to leave. She waved and smiled at him, her heart hurting for both of them. He yelled out to her that he loved her, and she nodded. She knew.

* * *

Max disappeared from Warren's view, passing through what seemed like an impenetrable wall of clouds that were the leading edge of the freak hurricane. The storm continued its approach, but Warren couldn't find it within himself to care anymore. He would stay there whether she stopped the storm or whether it overtook him. He dropped to his knees and yelled out as loudly as he could, "MAX!"

Suddenly from deep within the storm he saw a flash of light that grew into a ball and began emanating outward. Then he heard the scream. Like a thousand eagles it penetrated his consciousness. He instinctively covered his ears, but he couldn't block it out. It was everywhere. It was in his head! The light continued its rush outward, amazing Warren as it happened. Warren realized that the storm was dissolving under the force and power of the light. Hundreds of miles in all directions the light continued to emanate outward. It ate the storm bit by bit till the system couldn't sustain itself anymore. The storm cleared. Warren could see through it. Where there was once a wall of clouds now all that remained was the small figure of a girl in the middle of the light. He could see she was the source. Max was the source. In awe he kept staring, shielding his eyes as the light drew nearer. He could see she was in a lot of pain, and the inhuman screaming was coming from her. She looked like she was going to explode! _Max! NO! Please stop!_ Then the light overtook him and threw him backward and down the hillside the group had ascended moments before. He flipped head over heels until he hit a tree and lost consciousness.

* * *

"Warren!"

Someone was smacking him lightly on the cheek.

"Warren! Wake up!"

His eyes began to flutter open. His head hurt more than it ever had before and the sudden shock of sunlight hitting his vision didn't help at all.

"C'mon Warren, you've got to get up!"

He finally opened his eyes and looked up at the face of Kate as she kneeled over him trying to wake him. He could see the worried face of Luke standing over her.

"He's waking up," she said as she tried to help him sit up. He was extremely groggy. Another concussion? Really?

"Where's Max? MAX!" he yelled before immediately trying to get up, and then promptly falling over.

"Hang on a sec, Warren. You took a big tumble there," Luke said. "We all got blasted with…whatever the hell that was that Max did and fell down the hill. You must have hit a tree."

Victoria popped over the crest of the bluff top and made her way down to the other three. "I don't see any sign of her. She's just…gone."

"No, come on. We have to look better. We can't stop!" Warren finally got to his feet and began limping his way to the edge of the bluff. He looked out on the sea, now calm and peaceful. The sun was dipping low toward the horizon in the now clear sky. It would have been a sight to behold, but Warren wasn't interested in pretty sunsets at that moment. He sunk to his knees and peered over the edge of the cliff, hoping to see Max's small body somewhere on the beach, but there was nothing. She was just gone.

Kate sat down next to Warren. He looked over at her and saw tears streaming down her face. "Oh Warren, she was going to do that the entire time, wasn't she? Why didn't she tell us?" She looked at her phone and noticed the 15 missed calls from Max's mother and she cried even harder, not sure how she was going to tell her that her daughter was gone. Luke placed his arm around Kate as they kept looking out over the ocean.

"She knew we wouldn't have let her come. I wouldn't have let her come," he replied.

"Damn, Max," Victoria said sadly. She was beginning to cry as well and the two girls embraced Warren and each other. "I'm so so sorry, Warren."

They all sat there for a long time, mostly silent but for the sounds of stifled sobs. Warren's head hurt, but not as much as his heart. He was angry and he was sad. He loved the girl he'd just lost, and he was furious with her. It was going to take a long time for him to process what had happened. It had all happened so quickly.

The sun finally began to dip below the horizon and the pink hues of the sunset began to turn to dusk. The four friends all quietly stood and began making their way down the hillside after several long minutes of convincing Warren they had to leave. Soon, they would have to explain to a lot of people what they'd seen, and why Max was gone. Soon they'd have to try to move on with their lives. They'd have to recover emotionally. Warren knew he'd have to go on for her sake. But he didn't want to. He wanted only to think of her and to slip into her memory. He just wanted his Super Max.


	14. Epilogue

Early retirement was good for William Bennet. He stared out on the ocean from his Hawaiian beachfront property while sipping on his fruity alcoholic beverage and smiled. The sunset was especially beautiful that night as his children played on the beach and the steady sound of the ocean calmed his nerves. He looked to his wife and smiled as she relaxed on her chair with her own margarita. She smiled back. _This really is the life,_ he thought.

He noticed some commotion down on the beach as his kids suddenly ran down the shoreline toward something in the water. He jumped up and began to jog down to where his children had run to and then saw his daughter start sprinting toward him.

"Dad!" she yelled when she got to him, "there's someone who just washed up on the shore. I think they're still alive!"

His eyes grew wide and he sprung into action. "Go call an ambulance!" He sprinted to where his other children had congregated as they finished dragging a naked girl onto the beach. She wasn't conscious but she was still alive, her chest rising and falling as she breathed. He yelled to his wife to bring a beach towel over and she hurried down with one.

She gasped when she saw the young woman. She had medium brown hair and bruises all over her face. Her right arm was crooked at an odd angle; broken. "Where did she come from?" she asked as she placed the towel over the young girl.

They both knelt down next to the unconscious girl as they waited for their daughter to return with news of emergency services. Suddenly, the girl shot upright, her eyes as wide as saucers. William thought he'd seen a hint of a yellow glow before he realized how blue they were.

"Easy, easy," his wife said as she put her hand on the girl's bare shoulder, "it's okay."

The girl looked around erratically trying to figure out where she was. William let her try to gain her bearings before he asked her, "Who are you, miss? Where are you from? How did you get here?"

The girl looked at him and seemed confused. She shook her head a few times and shut her eyes tight for a few moments. She finally opened her eyes and suddenly looked frightened.

"I don't know," she said.

* * *

 **Well that's it everyone! I hope you liked the story. Thanks to everyone who read it! I appreciated all the reviews from people, and I'd like to thank reviewers like The Penny Treasure and Sky Maxwell (and anyone else I've missed) who were very engaged from the beginning.**

 **Millix asked if I'd be writing more on this in the future. I do plan on it if I can come up with an idea for a sequel. Keep an eye out.**


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